Leave No Trace Plan, Burning Man
About Our Camp
Camp Name: Sparky’s House of P(anic, pestilence, pancakes, phlame, phun…) or SHOP for
short.
History, background: Formerly of Fleshlab, Foodlab, and parts of IGS and Groove Labs. The
primary organizers of this camp are attending for their 3rd, 8th, and 13th years.
Estimated Population: 35
Nature and scale of our activities: Most of our activities are focused around our fire truck,
Sparky. For the last several years we have spent a lot of time with the Black Rock City Fire
Department, escorting them to burns and trainings. We have also driven a lot of random folks
around on art tours at night. This year, we intend to expand on the Fire Truck theme and in
doing so increase camp interactivity.
As a camp we will:
Plan Ahead
Practice the 5 R’s: Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Restore, and Respect
Keep our camp clean before, during and after the event
Adopt the seven principles and practices of Leave No Trace at Burning Man
Do what is necessary to protect and restore the Black Rock Desert
Identify potential problems and issues that may arise
Create a strategy or plan for Leaving No Trace
We will educate all camp members about minimizing our impact on the playa
How we will organize for Leave No Trace
Our LNT leadership and structure: Ian Corbett – head of cleanup/organization, and
infrastructure maintenance,Andrea Dohar – head of tool and utility maintenance, Stu Statman –
head of kitchen maintenance.
We hereby designate Ian Corbett as our Ambassador to the Black Rock Desert and leader of our
Leave No Trace Team,: To oversee the respective maintenance captains and camp overall.
The team will help plan our purchases, what we bring to the playa, and encourage us to reuse,
recycle, reduce and restore our materials. They will think about how we and all of our stuff will
get there and make it home again. The team will keep our camp clean and fun before, during
and after the event and delegate and enlist help when it is needed.
They will be responsible for cleanup and trash management in our camp, including activities
and parties we host. They will make sure that our gray water does not impact the playa. They
will see that all camp members understand and agree with the policies and practices of Leave
No Trace at Burning Man.
They will oversee daily tasks and will have a plan in place when we get ready to leave.
When it's time to break down and sweep our camp for every last trace. The Ambassador will
make sure EVERYTHING left goes with us.
The Ambassador will encourage our participation in community line sweeps and restoration with
our neighbors and DPW.
,Ian Corbett, will oversee our camp breakdown and cleanup.
Our Commitment to Leave No Trace
To minimize our impact on the Playa, we will follow these rules:
Before the event
We pledge to Leave No Trace in and around our campsite, including our own and
others’ waste.
We will read the survival guide and LNT tips.
We will complete this camp’s Leave No Trace Plan and share it with the entire
camp.
We will plan the assembly and takedown of our structures and decorations and
tape the edges of our carpets
We will inventory vehicle space so we can pack out everything
We will take the packaging off of just about everything and stock up on reusable
products and containers
We will shop for simple finger foods and prepare meals in advance to reduce
waste
We will bring no glass, cheap trinkets, small feathers, and anything that might
get left on the playa
During the event
We will check our camp daily
We will clean as we go, realizing that any trash or MOOP (matter out of place)
can blow away or be buried at any moment.
We will keep our recyclables, burnables, and non-burnables clearly separated for
easy disposal,
We will recycle our aluminum, either on-site or back home
We will have special cleanup crews for any high traffic activities we host and take
care of any trash left by guests, invited or otherwise.
We won’t leave trash in or around the port-o-potties
We won’t light fires on bare ground or dig pits, leaving scars. If we must burn,
we’ll use a public burn barrel or burn platform
We will burn only clean untreated wood or paper (nothing synthetic) and follow
the safety guidelines for fires and burn scar prevention.
We won’t dig large holes or trenches
We will keep all items tied or weighted down, and leave papers at home.
We will not dump any grey or black water on the playa
We will encourage members of our camp to carry a personal trash (MOOP)
container and a cigarette butt container when they are outside camp.
After the event
We will put aside time and have designated volunteers for the final cleanup
We will take all trash in sealed containers to a landfill and recyclables to a recycle
center on the way home.
After cleaning our camp, everyone in our camp will devote at least two hours to
the general city cleanup (e.g. trash fence, local port-o-potties, café, etc).
We will leave extra space in every vehicle on the way to the desert, knowing that
repacking will inevitably take up more space and ensure that no items can
detach during the ride home.
We will pack out everything, including any unevaporated gray water and scum
We won’t put trash in or around the port-o-potties
We will help out our neighbors and fellow citizens
We will be Good Neighbors
We will encourage our guests to bring their own beverage containers.
We will help out our neighbors
We will adopt the space around our camp, making sure that it stays traceless
We will help careless or forgetful campers
Here's how we’ll do it
Design our camp in a way that is easy to keep clean: As in years past, we have clearly definied
cleanup areas consisting of shower and grey water, port-o-potties, kitchen, burn barrel, and
private structures. This will allow each of the maintenance teams and individual participants to
keep track of their area more easily.
Select materials and decorations for our camp that lessen waste and are recyclable or reusable:
All decorations are reusable. Structures, furniture, rugs, sculptures and decorated lawn
ornaments that will return to New York or our storage space, and be reused next year
Create a detailed plan for the breakdown/cleanup of our camp, accounting for every board,
stake, and scrap, and pack necessary tools and supplies:
Pre-Playa:
The New York contingent of the camp will meet up to pack all camp tools and supplies from the
Bushwick Depot and assist with container load-in.
Arrival:
Within the layout of out camp, centralized waste disposal stations and recycling bins will be an
important fixture. As we arrive, multiple waste stations will be located between structures,
constructed to be both sturdy and weatherproof. This will set the standard for the week as well
as keep blowing trash down to a minimum.
During the week:
Each evening at the communal meal, a short break before dinner is served will be used to
patrol the camp for any debris that may have accumulated during the day. This includes all food
trash, bits of costuming, etc. With a small effort from everyone this will leave our home clean
and the departure preparations at a manageable level. After each meal, a cleanup crew will
wash up dishes, wipe down the kitchen, and change trash bags as necessary.
Departure:
PEOPLE NEED TO CHECK IN WITH ONE OF THE CAPTAINS BEFORE THEY LEAVE THE PLAYA.
We’re tired of cleaning up and storing other people’s crap that they leave behind. Our camp is
small enough that we can be Nazis about making sure people break down their domes and take
home their stuff, instead of leaving us to do it for them. What’s more, everybody knows each
other well enough that there will actually be some accountability for blowing off cleanup!
As we leave BRC, each departing vehicle will be responsible for taking at least one sack of trash,
with the majority of all trash being hauled out on the back of Sparky, with all recycling going
out with the RV and cargo van. The New York crew, always the last out of our clan, will remain
to make the final sweep of the site, removing all small objects, bits of trash and all detritus that
no longer has an owner.
Plan for extra cleanup and trash generated by activities and parties at our camp:
Daily sweeps of all zones of the camp by zone captains (and their helpers) will be conducted to
clean up after daily activities.
Have a plan for proper evaporation or disposal of our grey water, including containers to haul
out what’s left:
This year we will be renting a greywater tank from Johnny on the Spot, and having it pumped
every other day. The shower will be drained to this tank via sump pump, and kitchen and
washing waste water will be filtered after meals and drained from large tubs to the tank via
sump pump.
Plan enough space and storage in our vehicles for trash hauling:
Sparky will haul out camp trash off playa, with recycling going out in the cargo van and RV.
Explain the ground rules to all camp members and post our LNT plan on our website.
We currently have a google group that all camp documentation will go on to, and are in the
process of resuscitating the old Foodlab wiki to centralize our information.
Plan a secured trash separation station with signage and tags and plenty of heavy duty garbage
bags
We already have three sets of garbage cans, with signage, designated for trash, cans and
bottles, compostable, and paper.
We will bring the following items for camp operations
Separate, sealed containers for recyclables, burnables, and non-burnables, a found bin
and signage and tags.
Reusable dinnerware and utensils, including a portable beverage container and coffee
cup for the Café
A large water container for camp water supplies (no small containers)
5-gallon bucket and painter’s mesh for wet kitchen scraps.
Containers for grey water disposal
Containers for smokers’ butts
Tarps or other floor covering to ‘catch’ any items that drop
We will bring the following items for our camp’s breakdown,
clean-up and restoration
Big whiskbroom and push brooms
Flat blade shovel for burn scars or dune MOOP
Large landscape rake and smaller rakes for sweeping through dust piles
Stiff long handled broom for breaking up dunes
Rope and string for tying loose stuff down.
Small spare bags for collecting trash as we wander.
Lots on industrial strength trash bags: more than we think we'll need.
Cheap work gloves for everybody.
Long-handled sledgehammer for compacting 5-gallon buckets and driving stakes.
Vise grips for removing stakes and rebar.
Directions and hours of landfills and RV water dump stations
Magnets or magnet sweepers to remove every last nails, staples, scrap of metal.
Vehicles and/or trailers to haul everything out
Packing Out and Restoration of Our Site
We will take away everything we brought with us plus a few things we didn’t know we’d
have.
Our restoration team will use cones on the outside of our camp’s border to define our
boundaries, break up any dunes that formed around vehicles or structures, then divide
up our area and begin line sweeps.
If we don’t have enough folks on our team to form one line across the site, we will
break our space up into smaller areas and have each restoration volunteer deMoop their
area.
We will pick up all woodchips, broken glass, plastic debris, metal debris, fire works and
plant material.
We complete restoration of any hotspots (micro-MOOP collections), or burnscars.
We will try to give a helping hand to our neighbors
Black Rock Desert Restoration
We will each contribute at least 2 hours of community clean-up
We will pitch in with our fellow citizens and community service teams to restore the
natural characteristics of the playa in our neighborhood, removing all burn scars, dunes,
leftover debris, or other physical traces of our presence.
We will participate in DPW line sweeps and local restoration efforts.
We will volunteer for and support ecological protection and restoration of the Black Rock
Desert